Mindful Associations

Understanding the power of influence is an important step of the self-improvement journey. One of my mentors used to tell me that if you enter a room with 2 idiots - 3 idiots will come out. This was an example of the power of influences.

If all of your friends are smokers, than chances are high that you will also smoke. Of course, if you understand the power of influence, then you can use this to your advantage by looking to associate yourself with people of the qualities that you're looking to attain.

“Get a millionaire mentor. Most of us were brought up middle class or poor and then hold ourselves to the limits and ideas of that group. I have been studying millionaires to duplicate what they did. Get your own personal millionaire mentor and study them. Most rich people are extremely generous with their knowledge and their resources.” 

-Yvon Chouinard

My mentor also told me that he was able to determined my income based on the average income of my 5 closest friends. We can't deny that we're likely more easily influenced than we like to believe that we are. Be careful who you hangout with as you may end up like them.

The Puzzle of Life

We're pieces in the puzzle of life; We come in different shapes/sizes. Some compare themselves with other pieces for the purpose of finding reasons not to connect while others are doing the same in order to seek connections.

"Don't walk in front of me... I may not follow. Don't walk behind me... I may not lead. Walk beside me... just be my friend."

-Albert Camus

What we ought to do is the later as we're at our best when we connect with each other. Friendship is the canvas with which we find peace. We need to stop looking at what differentiate us more than what we have in common. We must find ways to move beyond our conflict.

"Do I not destroy my enemies by making them my friends?"

-Abraham Lincoln

Thinking Distance

“From the neck down you're worth minimum wage, from the neck up your opportunity is unlimited.” 

-Zig Ziglar

One of the downside of reading non-fiction is that you may come to the point where you're no longer as comfortable being involved in deep conversations with those that don't read for the simple reason that you feel there's a distance between how they think compared to you.

Bodybuilders are sometime faced with the "leave humanity behind" prerogative which essentially mean that they reach a point in their bodybuilding careers where they make the decision to do whatever it takes to be as big as they can be. 

Intellectuals also go through a similar change as they can reach a point where they decide that they will no longer think like the masses.

The distance felt can go both ways as intellectual can meet people that are further along their journey just as much as those that aren't as far. The important part is to be respectful of everyone and keep our minds open to new ideas. Be patient to those that aren't as far along as you just as you would expect someone further along to be patient with you.

No Work No Problem?

A friend of mine was injured back in 2014 and has been on disability ever since. She admitted to me that not working was boring for her and she didn't wish it on anybody. My retired dad has been telling me the same.

Try me...

While I can certainly understand that we can run out of "shows" to watch or "video games to play" I still believe that getting bored wouldn't happen to me because I have plenty of things to occupy myself outside of the mindless entertainment.

Feeling useful is what my dad misses the most about working but that's because he hasn't really found  ways, outside of work, to get that feeling. I not only have, through such things as writing, I've also found ways to do it outside of my full time work.

In the workplace, some people can't do anything unless they're told what to do. I suspect that those are people that would miss work the most as they can't seem to function without someone else telling them what to do. 

That's never been my problem because I've approach every project with the "how can I add value to this" mindset. I need very little guidance before I find ways to contribute and this attribute has spilled out in my personal life as well.

For now, however, I can only speculate how I'll be during my own retirement.

A Dictatorship in America? Really?

I never thought I would see the day when voting for a President was choosing between a Democracy and Dictatorship. I always thought that dictatorship was something that was forced unto a conquered country... not something voted in or that people wished for.

Americans, under the Trump cult, seems to be wanting democracy to be overthrown in favor of a dictatorship. If we look at China, Russia, North Korea... can we really say that dictatorship is better than a democracy? 

The only people benefiting from dictatorships are the elites. Only Trump, and his closets of allies, would reap the rewards of America becoming a dictatorship.

A democracy, which gives the power to the people, isn't a perfect form of government but its definitely an evolution over dictatorship. America would loose, on all fronts, by this downgrade and perhaps serves as a reminder that good things don't last and if it can happen to America then it can happen to any country.

Be better, America, not only for your sake but for the world.